Kenya's top court upholds Kenyatta win in disputed election

Photos: Kenya elections – Men watch the incoming provisional election results on a television outside a shop in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, Kenya's capital, March 5, 2013.

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Photos: Kenya elections – An armed security officer guards ballot boxes on March 5, 2013 that have yet to be tallied in Kakamega, western Kenya, a day after the country held national elections.

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Photos: Kenya elections – The Presiding Officer from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) shows presidential ballots for counting at a polling station at the Oloolua Primary School in the town of Ngong on March 4, 2013.

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Photos: Kenya elections – Poll officials count ballots at a polling centre following Kenya's national elections on March 4, 2013 in the country's western province in Kakamega.

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Photos: Kenya elections – Shadows of a long queue of voters is cast upon the road, just before voting is due to close, in downtown Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, on March 4, 2013 as Kenyans vote in general elections.

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Photos: Kenya elections – A man shows his inked finger, which marks that he has voted in Kangemi, Nairobi.

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Photos: Kenya elections – Election officer shows presidential ballots for counting at a polling station at the Oloolua Primary School as voting closes in the town of Ngong, outside of Nairobi.

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Photos: Kenya elections – An election observer sits beside sealed ballot boxes after the close of voting at the Oloolua Primary School as voting closes.

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Photos: Kenya elections – A voting assistant stacks ballot papers marked with a vote for presidential candidate Raila Odinga to an assistant at the Olympic Primary School in Kibera, Nairobi on March 4, 2013.

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Photos: Kenya elections – Maasai tribes-people leave after voting in Ilngarooj, Kajiado South County, Maasailand, on March 4, 2013 during Kenya's elections.

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Photos: Kenya elections – People stand in line to cast their vote at a polling stations in Kisumu, western Kenya on March 4, 2013 during the nationwide elections.

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Photos: Kenya elections – Close up of Hawa Hassan's, a Nubian born in Kibera in 1953, identity card as she gets ready to vote at the Old Kibera Primary School in Nairobi on March 4, 2013 during the nationwide elections. Nubians, originally from Sudan, have suffered statelessness for many years in Kenya since they were brought into the country as soldiers for the British in the early 1900s and settled in 'Kibra' meaning 'forest' in Nubian.

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Photos: Kenya elections – Kenyan women carrying her baby casts her ballot at a polling booth in the Mathare, in Nairobi on March 4, 2013 during the elections.

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Photos: Kenya elections – A voter puts a ballot paper into the senatorial box as voting kicked off in Kenya on March 4, 2013 in the country's western province in Kakamega. Long lines of Kenyans queued from far before dawn to vote Monday in critical elections, the first since violent polls five years ago, with five policemen killed in an ambush in Mombasa hours before polling started.

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Photos: Kenya elections – An elederly Maasai woman casts her vote in Ilngarooj, Kajiado County, Maasailand, on March 4, 2013.

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Photos: Kenya elections – Kenyans voters queuing for the presidential elections at the Kisumu Social Centre, one of the largest polling stations in Kisumu town in western Kenya March 4, 2013.

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Photos: Kenya elections – Kenya's Deputy Prime Minister and presidential candidate Uhuru Kenyatta speaks to the press after casting his vote at the Mutomo primary school in Kiambu, north of Nairobi on March 4, 2013 during the nationwide elections.

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Photos: Kenya elections – Kenyan Prime Minister and presidential candidate Raila Odinga releases a dove at a rally in Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi on March 2, 2013, on the last day of campaigning, 48 hours ahead of presidential, gubernatorial and senatorial elections.

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Photos: Kenya elections – Kenyans in the Dandora neighborhood of Nairobi wait to vote at James Gichuru Primary School on March 4, 2013.

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Story highlights

Highly-anticipated ruling means Kenyatta will be sworn in April 9

Prime Minister Raila Odinga says he accepts the court decision

Kenyan Supreme Court says presidential election was "free and fair"

The ruling ends a drawn-out case that has riveted the nation

The Kenyan Supreme Court on Saturday upheld Uhuru Kenyatta's victory in the presidential election, dismissing a challenge by his chief rival and ending a drawn-out case that has riveted the nation.

The nation's highest court declared the election "free and fair," ending weeks of uncertainty after the disputed March 4 poll.

Kenyatta, the 51-year-old son of Kenya's founding leader, won the election with 50.07% of the vote.

Raila Odinga, who got 43.31%, had challenged the outcome in court on the grounds that it was flawed and marred by technical problems.

After the court issued its ruling, he said he accepted its judgment and would abide by it.

"The court has now spoken," Odinga said, "I wish the president-elect and his team well."

Odinga said his petition focused on valid failures in the election process.

"My decision to file a petition in the Supreme Court to challenge the validity of the election was a testament of my faith in the independence of our judiciary," he said. "I did so for the sake of our democracy and for the sake of all Kenyans."

Kenyatta will be sworn in April 9, making him the nation's fourth and youngest president.

Political dynasty

Kenyatta and Odinga are the sons of the nation's first president and vice president, respectively, bringing back memories of a political dynasty that dates to the 1960s.

Their fathers started out as allies in the quest for Kenyan independence from Britain.

But the elder politicians' relationship ended in bad blood when founding President Jomo Kenyatta forced out his vice president, Jaramogi Odinga, following a series of disputes.

Some five decades later, it is the sons' turn in the spotlight.

'Accept the ruling'

Last week, both leaders pledged to accept the court's decision, assuring citizens that the ruling would end the uncertainty in the nation.

A peaceful response will go a long way toward restoring the nation's image as a bastion of stability in the region after disputed election results led to bloody chaos in 2007.

In that election, more than 1,200 were killed and hundreds of thousands displaced after Odinga disputed the results, which showed incumbent President Mwai Kibaki as the winner.

At the time, supporters of both candidates battled on the streets with crude weapons, not in court.

The outgoing president urged citizens to honor the court ruling and shun violence.

"As the country awaits the Supreme Court ruling, I call upon all of us to accept the ruling and maintain peace," Kibaki said Thursday. "Kenyans should resume their routine economic activities as soon as possible to return normalcy in the country."

Beyond borders

The March 4 election was the first general poll since the disputed election. It was conducted under a reformed judicial system and a more inclusive electoral commission.

Kenya is East Africa's biggest economy and a crucial trade route into the rest of the continent.

It provides an important buffer of stability in a region that includes the fledgling Somali government and the politically tense Sudan and South Sudan.

Kenya is also a major U.S. ally in the war against Islamist militants in the region and has remained relatively peaceful amid civil wars in neighboring nations.

Complicated relations

The upholding of Kenyatta's victory raises the prospect of complicated diplomatic ties with the West.

The International Criminal Court has indicted him for allegedly funding a local militia that conducted reprisal attacks in the last election in 2007. His running mate, William Ruto, also faces ICC charges at The Hague, in the Netherlands.

Both have denied the charges and have said they will cooperate with the court to clear their names.

Defiance of the West

Analysts say the ICC indictment may have rallied citizens to Kenyatta's side in defiance of the West.

"Many Africans have lost faith in ICC and view it as targeting African leaders and failing to discharge its justice among non-African leaders," said Ayo Johnson, director of ViewPoint Africa. "Kenya sent a loud message to the ICC ... don't interfere. And it does not matter if you brand our leaders as criminals."

But rights group say the courts are vital to providing justice in cases largely overlooked by governments.

Kenyatta has said the indictment will not affect his ability to do his job, and has urged the international community to respect the will of Kenyans.

The United States and Britain sent accolades to Kenyatta following the ruling. Before elections, officials from both nations had expressed concerns over ICC charges against the president-elect.

British Prime Minister David Cameron wrote to Kenyatta to congratulate him, a Downing Street spokesman said Saturday.

Cameron "urged the Kenyan people to be proud of the strong signal they have sent to the world about their determination to exercise their democratic right peacefully," the spokesman said.

In a statement, the White House also congratulated Kenyatta and urged Kenyans "to peacefully accept the results" of the election.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also talked to Kenyatta and Odinga and pledged the United Nations' support for the country.